


Godzilla-chan

by thefluffcat



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Comedy, Fluff, M/M, au where iwaizumi gets a pet bearded dragon, everything else is the same, oh and he names it Godzilla because he is a dork and would totally do that haha, thats the only difference, volleyball dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-09-13 18:59:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9137221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefluffcat/pseuds/thefluffcat
Summary: Iwaizumi goes on a college visit for the weekend with his parents, and Oikawa is stuck lizard-sitting, which should be a simple enough job; feed the lizard, pay attention to the lizard, don't accidentally lose the lizard in the middle of the park.You know, simple stuff like that.





	1. Lizard-sitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Partly inspired by this [this post](http://steph-is-cuteaf-btw.tumblr.com/post/153985414093/iwaizumi-gaming-with-godzilla-when-a-wild), partly inspired by my love of lizards, and fully inspired by my love for these characters <3

\- 2 years ago - 

"You got a what?" Oikawa asked, a bewildered expression taking over his face. 

"A bearded dragon." 

Iwaizumi lifted the small creature closer to Oikawa's face. "See?" In the palm of his outspread hand laid a tiny tan and brown striped lizard. Including the tail it was about the length of the hand it rested on, with spikes running along it's side and a few on it's head. The sudden upward motion caused the animal to tilt their head curiously and make eye contact with the setter. 

Oikawa threw his hands up in defense and leaned away. Not wanting to be within jumping distance of the scaly creature. "I can see it perfectly fine without you shoving it in my face, Iwa-chan!" Crossing his arms and side eyeing the little lizard. 

"So... why did you get it anyways?"

"My parents got me her as a gift for getting into the high school I wanted."

Oikawa snorted. "Only you would think a lizard is an acceptable gift. What with your Godzilla obsession and all. Wouldn't surprise me if you even named it after that giant monster."

Iwaizumi quickly adverted his eyes, a light blush tinting his cheeks. "Uhh...yeah...that would be totally lame," he half-heartedly chuckled. 

"You did! Haha you totally did!" Oikawa covered his mouth as he bent over with laughter, shoulders shaking from the effort of trying to hold it in. 

"Sh-shut up, you ass!" Iwaizumi gave his fiercest glare, looking ready to pummel Oikawa into the ground if not for the small lizard still cupped in his hands. 

Quickly composing himself, and wiping a fake tear away for effect, Oikawa straightened back up only to let out a short huff of laughter, "Godzilla-chan, Queen of the Monsters," he giggled at his own joke. 

"Oi! Like your one to talk with your UFO pajamas and xfiles ringtone."

He let out a fake gasp. "Are you comparing your mutated lizard movies to the long standing scientific theory that there could be sentient life on other planets in this vast solar system of ours!?" 

"Yes." Iwaizumi deadpanned. 

At that moment, Godzilla chose to start her exploration by almost walking off the side of Iwazumi's hand. 

"Woah". He quickly moved his other hand to catch her, and continued to rotate hands as she kept walking in an endless cycle of left hand, then right hand, then back to the left hand. 

"Okay well I'm going to take her back inside now. She probably wants food or something...," he shrugged. 

"Don't those things eat crickets or whatever? Gross," Oikawa stuck his tongue out as his face scrunched up in disgust. 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at his best friend's over dramatic tendencies. They used to catch beetles together as kids, so he didn't see why it was a big deal. Okay...maybe he did most of the catching, considering Oikawa would just chatter away the whole time, choosing to watch instead of actually participate.

He turned to make his way up to the front steps of his house. "Yeah, well, I'm sure milk bread isn't very appetizing to her."

Shifting Godzilla into his left hand he opened the door with the other and stepped inside. "See ya later," he called out before the door swung shut. 

Left outside, Oikawa let out a groan. "Ugh why couldn't his parents have gotten him something cuter? Like a cat, or a chinchilla!" 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

\- Present Day -

Oikawa glared at the spiky reptile bathing under her heat lamp. "I can't believe I'm stuck watching you this entire weekend."

Godzilla tilted her head to stare at him out of one of her eyes, blinking up at him as he pouted in response. 

Over the past couple of years, he had gotten over the fact that Godzilla wasn't the ideal cute and fluffy pet he envisioned, but instead a scaly and tolerable one. It's not like he had a choice really as whenever he would come over Iwazumi's house the lizard would either be in her cage watching the two do their homework, or actually given free range of the room. The one time he had almost taken her home by accident as she somehow had snuck into his backpack when they weren't looking. Also, it should be mentioned that the lizard had grown in size, like a lot, now almost as long as his forearm if you counted the tail. Meaning she got an upgraded terrarium, the massive glass tank taking up a good portion of Iwazumi's bedroom. And when Oikawa occasionally slept over his friend's house the cage's lamplight would make it difficult to fall asleep. 

But really she wasn't so bad. She never bit him, she liked to be held, and most importantly, she made Iwaizumi happy. 

But if there was one thing he still couldn't stand, it would be feeding time. 

[Oikawa]: ahhhh iwa-chan!!!! these bugs are so grossss ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ

[Oikawa]: can't I feed her something else????? (・ε・`*) …

[Iwaizumi]: no

[Oikawa]: (ﾉಠдಠ)ﾉ︵┻━┻

[Iwaizumi]: quit being a baby

[Iwaizumi]: you can even use the tweezers for the mealworms so you don't have to touch them with your hands

[Iwazumi]: also don't forget to take her outside for a little bit at some point 

[Oikawa]: yeah yeah got it 

[Iwaizumi]: very reassuring ...

Setting down his phone, Oikawa bent down to be eye level with the lizard. "You better appreciate this." He said with a pointed look at Godzilla as he grabbed the tweezers from beside the cage.

Picking up the mealworm container, Oikawa muttered a few curses as he slowly took the lid off. Grabbing the first mealworm he saw, he cringed as it wiggled between the tweezers. "Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew." 

In rapid succession, he transferred a few more into the cage before quickly closing the lid. With a sigh he sat back onto the floor and gave Godzilla a disgruntled look through the glass. He really was a great friend, possibly the best friend anyone could ask for, doing something as brave as this. 

"Iwa-chan owes me at least 3 lunches for doing this," he mumbled to himself as he watched Godzilla make her way over to the mealworms. As she started to crunch down on them, Oikawa got up to leave the room. Iwaizumi said nothing about having to watch her eat the disgusting bugs. 

Making his way into the kitchen, he couldn't help but muse the name Godzilla was fitting when she was in hunting mode like that. 

Grabbing a snack from the cabinet, he decided to chill and watch some tv for a few hours. He had the whole house to himself as Iwaizumi and his family were on a college visit for the weekend, which is how he got stuck with this job since he lived right next door and someone needed to feed the pet. 

Turning on the tv, the history channel automatically came up since this was practically his second home and he sometimes, _all the time_ , forced Iwaizumi to watch alien documentaries with him. 

He soon started to nod off as the special they were playing was a re-run he had already seen. Shifting into a more comfortable position, Oikawa drifted into a peaceful nap. 

~

Waking a few hours later, he stood up to stretch his joints, making satisfying cracking sounds as he lifted his arms above his head. 

Letting out a big yawn, Oikawa mumbled, "I guess I should take Godzilla outside or else Iwa-chan is going to throw a hissy fit when he finds out I didn't."

Going back upstairs, Oikawa got out the purple lizard harness Iwaizumi had bought for her. "I still can't believe they make leashes for _LIZARDS_... Who even walks their lizards!?" Well besides Iwaizumi that is..

Picking the lizard up out of her cage Oikawa began the process of guiding her legs through the correct loops, then over the head, and finally across the chest. Godzilla's front legs were waving in continuous circles, searching for a solid surface to get a grip. 

Taking the reptile into the front yard, Oikawa grabbed ahold of the purple handle at the end of the rope and set Godzilla into the grass. 

Making no move to walk, the lizard laid down in the sun and stared straight ahead at nothing. 

After a few minutes of standing in place, Oikawa took a seat in the grass next to her, pulling out his phone to answer a few texts and update his Twitter, content as long as he had some connection to the Internet at hand. 

And it was when he was in the middle of taking a selfie that he distantly heard the chattering of girls. Curious, Oikawa peeked around the bush he was half hidden behind. _Oh shit!_ It was three of the members of his fanclub. And while normally he adored the attention, he preferred to keep his school life and home life somewhat separate, not giving his overzealous fans his home address on purpose. Oikawa had seen enough tabloid magazines to know what that would lead to. Not to mention the certain cold blooded creature by his feet was a total turn off. Girls didn't think lizards were cute, as much as Iwaizumi liked to argue differently. 

In a split second decision, he scooped up Godzilla and made a run for it. They were still far enough away to not recognize him, he was sure of it. The houses passed by in a blur as his feet pounded against the pavement, making sure to take extra turns so that no one could follow his zig-zag trail. 

And it was only when he had made it to the nearby park that he stopped, half hunched over as he quickly caught his breath. Good thing volleyball kept him in shape. 

It was only when he took a seat under a nearby tree that he thought what a short-minded, rash decision this had been, "Ohmygod! Why didn't I just run back into Iwa-chan's house?! It was right there! Ughh," he dug the palm of his hands into his eyes. Well there was nothing he could do about it now, but that didn't mean he wasn't frustrated with himself. If he had kept low and moved fast he would have been indoors before they even got near the yard. 

Lying down on his back in the grass, he set Godzilla beside him. After that frantic run heating up his body, the cool blades of grass felt nice on his skin. His eyes trailed after a fluffy white cloud that drifted slowly across the blue sky. It was a beautiful day, but he kind of wished it was night instead, clouds couldn't even begin to compare to the starlit expanse that appeared with the fading of the sun. Letting out a breath of hot air, Oikawa reached into his pocket to grab his phone, he wanted to complain to someone about the struggles of being a celebrity, but he realized with a start that it wasn't there. Sitting back up at lightening speed he looked around the general area, patting the grass and his other pockets. Letting out a defeated groan, he concluded that he must have dropped it when running. Holding his phone and a living creature while on the run probably wasn't the smartest idea ever. 

Turning his head to glare at the reptile, "I blame you for this." 

A blink was given in response. 

"Alright we are going to go retrace our steps," picking back up the lizard, he headed in the direction they had came, only to be met with the sight of the three girls from earlier. 

Sounding out of breath the girls ran closer to him, "See... Ah, I told you it was.. Ah, him!"

"Ah... Yeah.... Wait till.. Ah.. The other club members.. Ah, find out..."

"I love... Ah, you Oikawa-sama."

Crap crap crap crap crapcrapcrap. Trying to save face, Oikawa made another spilt second decision and hid Godzilla underneath a nearby bush, wrapping the end of the leash around a branch. He had a reputation to up keep and that reputation certainly did not include a beady-eyed reptile. 

Brushing a hand through his curly hair, Oikawa tried to regain some sense of composure before addressing his fans, "Hello ladies," flashing a pearly white smile for good measure, "I see you caught me on my afternoon run." Never mind the fact that he wasn't dressed in his usual running gear. 

The girls, having just caught up to him, had similar love-struck expressions on their faces, meaning he was in the clear, and he could direct this conversation wherever he wanted it to go. 

And after half an hour of charming smiles, playful winks, and a few dozen pictures he was able to leave with the excuse of continuing his _very_ important run, necessary to his volleyball training. 

Running halfway down the trail, with intent of circling back after the girls wandered away, Oikawa was met with a sight he could have lived without. _Why was his luck so shitty today?_ About 10 feet ahead was Ushijima Wakatoshi jogging in his direction, with what appeared to be a Rottweiler running beside him. 

Just as Oikawa was contemplating making a mad dash in the opposite direction, the other boy looked up and made eye contact with him. "Oh! Oikawa, what a surprise running into you here," Ushijima said, while coming to a stop beside the setter. 

Well there was no escaping now. 

"Yeah, haha, surprise surprise," he said through gritted teeth, mouth shaped in a false smile. 

Seemingly oblivious to the fake atmosphere, Ushijima continued on, "How is training at Aoba Johsai going?" Saying the school name in a clipped tone that irked Oikawa. 

Waving his hand through the air, he responded flippantly, "Amazing actually, we have a new training regime that we just started and the improvement in the team's dynamics is incredible, blows your team away honestly, you should come by sometime to see in action how much you're falling behind."

"I would like that, thank you."

_What the hell_ , is this guy for real? It wasn't even a real offer, just boasting. Oikawa's eyes scanned the emotionless face of his enemy, looking for any hints of his intentions. Quickly deciding that Ushijima was most likely serious, since he always was, Oikawa responded in a sarcastic tone, "Greaaat....can't wait..." Because as much as he hated the thought of Ushijima setting foot inside his gym, there was no way in hell would he back down from his semi-fake offer and look like a coward. 

"I will send you a text to coordinate when I should stop by."

Oikawa started to nod but stopped as he had an unpleasant thought, "So.... I need to give you my number right?" 

"No."

"No?"

He waited for the other boy to clarify his statement, but as the silence stretched on Oikawa realized that wasn't going to happen. _How did Ushijima get his number, god dammit!?_ Okay, you know what, he was done here. Being in the same vicinity as this guy would cause him to wrinkle prematurely. 

"Well, as much as I'd _love_ to stay and continue this riveting conversation," obviously poking fun at Ushijima's poor conversation skills, "I have to get going," and with that Oikawa walked away. 

Once out of eyesight of Ushijima, Oikawa set off into a jog, wanting to get as much distance between them as possible. He might have been muttering some insults while he was at it. 

Finally making it back to the bush he had left Godzilla at, Oikawa lifted up the low hanging branches, and was just about to reach under when he realized nothing was there. 

Thinking that maybe he checked under the wrong bush, he crawled over to the neighboring ones, but had no luck at those either. 

A feeling of dread dropped into his stomach as his mind caught up with the situation. _Well shit._

"IWA-CHAN IS GOING TO KILL ME!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is shorter than other fics I've written, but this is purely self-indulgent and totally for fun so I have no regrets
> 
> stick around for the next chapter to see if Oikawa is gonna be murdered or not :)


	2. Lizard on the Loose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Karasuno dorks try to help out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kept getting stuck with this chapter because IDK how to write Hinata or Kageyama?!?? But I really wanted them to make an appearance, so I worked at it. Hopefully they are okay here
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

After circling the entire park three times, and checking under numerous shrubs, Oikawa had to admit to himself that he was absolutely, completely, without a doubt, screwed. 

It was only halfway through his second lap that he had started to think of possible solutions to this dilemma, and these ideas had quickly spiraled out of control the longer he brainstormed. 

"Okay but," he muttered to himself. "If I just buy another lizard, that looks exactly the same, Iwa-chan will never notice the difference... Right? Right. All lizards look the same anyways." 

It was such a foolproof plan, but, when he went to grab his phone to check the local pet store ads, he was reminded that he didn't know where his phone was either. 

Not being able to check his phone at any given moment was honestly a struggle, and he is pretty sure in a few more hours he would start to go through withdrawal. And of course not having his phone made it impossible to contact anyone for help. He was sure one of his kouhai would jump at the chance to help their senpai in need, most likely Kindachi... positively Kindachi. 

With a deep sigh, Oikawa stood up from checking under another bush, ready to start round four of this hellish cycle, where every step he took without finding anything, raised his anxiety another notch. 

But just as Oikawa had stepped back onto the main gravel trail he was almost run over by a speeding orange blur, an elbow jabbing him in the ribs as the other person tripped in an attempt to avoid head-on collision. He heard a squawk and the sound of gravel being upturned as contact with the ground was made. 

Rubbing his side, Oikawa was conflicted whether to complain or see if they were alright, but since he was already in a bad mood, complaining won out. "Hey! Watch where you're going, people are walking here, more importantly I'm walking her- eh!? Chibi-chan?" 

Actually getting a decent look at the orange blur, he recognized the ginger hair of Karasuno's number 10, Hinata Shouyou. Who was currently brushing gravel off his shorts, making a lightening fast recovery from his fall, because nothing seemed to keep that little demon down for long. 

Hinata suddenly whipped his head towards him, seeming to remember he had almost knocked someone else over in his blunder and should apologize. But the second he caught sight of Oikawa whatever apology had been forming on his lips transformed into, "WAAHHH! I ALMOST KILLED THE GRAND KING!"

Okay... well the killed part was a bit of an exaggeration, but if there was one thing Oikawa knew about this kid from their interactions, it's that Hinata Shouyou does not tone-down anything he says or does. 

Not wanting to deal with him right now, Oikawa started to wave his growing apologizes away, as Hinata was now making rapid flapping motions with his arms as he profusely apologized. Honestly, off the court he was a totally different person than when he was apart of the intimidating freak-quick duo. 

And speaking of the duo... here came the other half. _Dammit._ Just as he had started to calm the little shrimp down. 

"Oi! Hinata! I'm pretty sure the team went that way-" Kageyama broke off as he noticed who Hinata was talking to. "Oikawa-san?!"

"Tobio-chan." _Geez did everyone come to this park?_

The look of surprise on Kageyama's face quickly transformed into annoyance, his signature scowl falling into place. 

Well it's good to know that the nickname still gets to him, and Oikawa couldn't help but let slip a smirk at that. 

Unable to sense the atmosphere, like usual, Hinata jumped right up to Kageyama in a panic, "Wait! I think we lost the team!" 

"That's what I was trying to say half a mile back!"

"Ooh! So that wasn't just a trick to win the race?! Why didn't you just say so!"

"Why would I do that dumbass?! I can beat you fair and square, anytime, anyplace." 

Hinata was now standing on his toes to better glare at the setter, small body vibrating at the challenge. 

That moment seemed like a good time to slip away from these two, he had more important matters to deal with after all. 

Walking past them, without so much as a glance in his direction, Oikawa thought he was in the clear, the obnoxious argument getting more distant in his ears, until his path was once again blocked by Hinata. 

"Me and Kageyama are going to race around the park! Time us!" Hinata yelled with determination shining in his eyes. 

And with that, they were gone. Already taking off into a run without waiting for an answer. And as Oikawa watched, they just barely dodged running into a young couple in their hurry. 

"Like hell I will," Oikawa muttered to himself, choosing to walk down a side trail to avoid running into them again. Seeing those two on top of everything else today must be a sign that God hates him or something. Besides, he was sure he hadn't checked this route before, so hopefully something would go right today. 

~ ~ ~ 

It was only 10 minutes later when Oikawa was nearly given a heart attack, as Hinata showed up right next to him while crouching under a bush. 

Sounding a little out of breath he asked, "So what was my time?"

Giving him the most incredulous look he could muster Oikawa hissed, "I didn't record your time, I'm kinda dealing with something myself here." 

Hinata's brown eyes darted around the bush trying to figure out what was so important about it, the confusion evident in the furrowing of his brow. 

"Are you... picking berries?"

"No. I am _not_ picking berries," Oikawa sighed, debating just leaving it at that, but the frustration of not being able to find Godzilla was getting to him and he needed to vent, since his usual means of venting was lost as well. "I just... lost something... okay, two somethings technically. And I've already searched this bush infested park several times with no luck at all!" 

The frustration evident in his tone must have been pretty bad, because Hinata was now looking at him with thinly veiled concern. 

"Um, I can- we can, help you look? It wasn't a volleyball was it? Because Kageyama, had accidentally spiked one into the middle of the pond earlier, it was all him though, just Kageyama, not me, not at all." Several "X" arm signals were made in conjunction with his denials, as if to further prove his point that he was innocent. 

"No? It wasn't a volleyball. It was a lizard." 

"Woah! Awesome! I've never seen a lizard up close before! How did you lose it?" 

Adverting his eyes, Oikawa cleared his throat, "It, uh... it ran away..." 

Well it technically wasn't a lie. Godzilla _did_ run away, hopefully, because he didn't want to even consider the possibility that a hawk could have gotten to her. 

Just then, Kageyama poked his head around the tree, out of breath like Hinata had been, eyes searching before locking onto the two of them, specifically Hinata. "You need to stop suddenly leavi-" 

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Hinata jumped up and practically tackled the other boy. "Kageyama! Kageyama! There is a lizard on the loose and the Grand King is begging for our help!" 

"Excuse me?! I did no such thing," Oikawa argued, stomping his foot on the ground in childish protest, before quickly recomposing himself. "I was just saying, if you two have nothing better to do than have little pissing contests between yourselves, then you might as well put your time to good use and do what I ask." 

Kageyama and Hinata exchanged a look, and a few facial expressions, before finally nodding in agreement. 

"We can help Oikawa-san."

"Yeah! We have some time before the rest of the team finds us anyways. I texted them that we are at the park."

"Did you say which park?"

"I don't know which park this is...?" Hinata nonchalantly shrugged, apparently unbothered by the fact that the rest of the team would have to search every park in Miyagi. 

Kageyama shrugged back, also unsure which park this was.

Well, normally Oikawa _would_ tell them the park name, but, he wanted the help, and the longer it took the team to find these two the longer he would have their assistance. 

"So uh..." Kageyama awkwardly started. "What are we looking for again?" 

"A lizard!" Hinata inaccurately flickered his tongue out in what looked like an attempt at a snake tongue. "Weren't you listening when I told you a minute ago Bakayama?!"

"I couldn't tell what you were saying! You were yelling in my face.... dumbass." The insult being delayed a second, as if it were an afterthought to add it on. 

Looking up at the sun to see it already starting to descend into its afternoon position, Oikawa tried to speed things up, "Alright, alright, get moving you two. You agreed to helping, so help," he said while waving his hands in a shooing motion. 

"Aye aye!" Hinata saluted, in a way which was either mocking or genuinely respectful, Oikawa couldn't tell. But he figured it was probably a mix of both. 

And so the search continued. 

There was a light breeze that had started up, rustling the leaves above Oikawa's head and making the sunlight flicker in and out between the foliage. A mother walked by, pushing a stroller with a sleeping baby nestled inside. She smiled politely at Oikawa as she passed him, and he gave a wide smile back, hoping it looked real enough. It really was a nice day, if he overlooked all his problems, but he couldn't do that for obvious reasons. 

_Maybe he should try calling out to Godzilla?_ Though he doubted that would work. Iwaizumi had tried for months to get her to come at the call of her name, to no avail. Teaching a lizard commands just didn't work. Although he did notice the way Godzilla would tilt her head and perk up whenever Iwaizumi approached her cage. Oikawa was pretty sure that was just a natural response to movement, but Iwaizumi insisted it was because she was excited to see him. 

Again picturing how pissed Iwaizumi will be when he finds out Godzilla is gone, he decides to just try calling her name, even if there is a 99.9999% chance it will do nothing. 

Starting off in a whisper, Oikawa quietly called her name as he returned to the area he had originally left her in. 

"Godzilllllla ~ come here girl. Come on, don't be afraid. It's me, uncle Oikawa. Godzilla. GodzilLA." 

Steadily raising his voice, he didn't realize he had begun to shout until he noticed the odd looks he was receiving from an elderly couple walking past. 

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, he lowered his voice again. 

Oikawa knew this was pointless, he wasn't a blind optimist like some people, but trying something was better than doing nothing. He just couldn’t figure out where Godzilla could have possibly gone. She wasn’t that fast. _Was she?_ Now that he thought about it, he had never seen her run at top speed. Maybe she had already left the park, and he was just searching the area for no reason. But then that would be admitting the possibility that she could be anywhere, and Oikawa didn’t like that idea, not one bit.

Starting to work himself into a panic, he jumped when a voice suddenly piped up behind him.

"Oikawa-san I think I found it!" Kageyama appeared, a few leaves stuck in his dark hair and mud covering his arms in still dripping patches. His hands, being the most mud covered part of the boy, were cupped together tightly to form a small cage. 

Oikawa's hopes, which had skyrocketed a second ago, just as quickly dived. There was no way Godzilla would fit in between someone's cupped hands. Which meant... 

Kageyama slightly opened his hands to reveal a dark brown wiggling creature, which attempted to escape the second freedom was visible. Titling his hands to block its escape, the little animal was flipped over to reveal patches of bright orange along its belly. 

Kageyama looked up at him with sparkling eyes, eagerly awaiting praise. 

"That's not..." Oikawa trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, willing down the harsh retort he had planned. 

"Ahh! No fair! Kageyama found it already?!" 

"NO!" Oikawa yelled, before lowering his voice to an calmer level. "No. He didn't."

Hinata and Kageyama both had similar confused expressions, and Oikawa seriously wondered what state the education system was in that it would allow these two into high school. 

"So... we are looking for a different lizard than this?" Hinata's face scrunched up in thought. 

"This isn't even a lizard!" Oikawa pointed at the dark brown creature still trying to slip out of Kageyama's hands. "It's a salamander."

If anything Hinata looked more confused. "There's a difference?"

"Of course there's a difference dumbass. Lizards don't breathe underwater." 

"Hey! You can't call me that when you're the one who thought this " _salamander_ ", putting air-quotes around the word, "was the lizard we had to find!" 

"It looked like a wet lizard at first," Kageyama mumbled, embarrassed at his blunder. 

"But this means I still have a chance! I'm gonna find that lizard first!" 

And with that Hinata was off, yelling a battle cry as he disappeared between some bushes. 

Seeming to suddenly remember Oikawa standing there, Kageyama took on a look of shame. 

"Ah, sorry, Oikawa-san." The other boy slowly mumbled out awkwardly. 

Oikawa leveled an unimpressed look at him, "Just keep looking Tobio-chan." 

And with that, he turned away, just barely hearing a quiet, "I think it peed..." come from behind him. 

Okay so maybe he was being a little harsh on Kageyama, but he couldn’t help it! He was just so annoying, and getting his hopes up like that was infuriating. Although Oikawa is sure he meant well, it just isn’t enough to overpower his years old grudge.

Hearing footsteps approaching, he looked behind him to find Kageyama jogging to catch up, now salamander free. Hopefully he let the little thing go by the pond, or at by some moist leaves. 

Falling into step with him, Kageyama awkwardly started, "So... what _does_ this lizard look like then?" 

Keeping it short and concise Oikawa answered, "Tan with darker brown speckles, spiked ridges, and about this big." He held out his hands to demonstrate. 

Kageyama made a soft "oh" sound, falling into thoughtful silence.

"I... I wouldn't picture you the type to have a lizard Oikawa-san."

Oikawa snorted, "'Cuz I'm not. She's Iwa-chan's."

"That makes a lot more sense..." Kageyama mumbles, more to himself than Oikawa. "Is iwaizumi-san searching as well?" 

At this question Oikawa stops walking and turns towards the other setter, who stops as well in mimic of him. Weighing his options, he figures Kageyama probably wouldn't go through the trouble of tattling to Iwaizumi about this, so it was pointless to hide the truth. 

"He kinda, uh, doesn't know. So if you find my obituary in the paper next week you know why." 

Kageyama raised an eyebrow. 

"Oh you probably think I'm exaggerating?! But let me tell you, I'm not," Oikawa shuddered just at the thought of Iwaizumi confronting him about Godzilla's whereabouts. 

A constipated look took over the other boy's face, as if he was thinking really hard about what he wanted to say. "Iwaizumi-san always was... very strict. But he can be nice too. This one time I lost my volleyball, so I spent all afternoon looking for it and eventually I did find it, stuck in a tree. I don't know how it got up there, but Iwaizumi-san told me he would get it down for me. I watched as he slowly climbed the towering tree, it looked scary, and difficult to find footholds as the tree branches were spread so far apart, but he somehow made it to the ball and got it down. Afterwards I expected a lecture, but he just told me to keep a closer eye on my stuff, he didn't even scold me for losing the ball and putting him through that."

While Oikawa knew that was suppose to be a comforting story, probably trying to reassure him that Iwaizumi can be understanding, it really had the opposite effect. 

See, Oikawa was the one who had lost Kageyama's ball in the tree... kind of on purpose... and _of course_ Iwaizumi had to find out. His resulting punishment had been a headlock and noogie, complete with Iwaizumi calling him a immature dumbass several times. 

If that was his punishment for just "losing" a volleyball... oh god.

"I'm doomed."

Disappointed that his 'cheering up' story didn't work, Kageyama seemed to be running out of ideas. "Can he um... I don't know, just get another one?"

How _dare_! Sure he had been considering this earlier himself. But still! How d a r e. 

Godzilla wasn't just any old lizard, she had memories with them. She had once tried to eat his math homework, and ended up leaving a big tear in the paper. She had spent movie marathons with them sitting on top of the blankets. She could balance 10 cheerios on her head, because he was trying to get her into the Guinness World's Record book. 

But instead of voicing all this, he simply glared. 

"I mean, let's keep looking! It couldn't have gotten far." Kageyama quickly backpedaled. 

Continuing to walk, by lead of Oikawa of course, they started searching the nearby kids' playground, making sure she hadn't buried herself in the sand pit. It was awkward silence between the two until Oikawa finally muttered, "You can't just 'go get another one', Iwa-chan loves that scaly lizard believe it or not."

Seeming surprised at the sudden break of silence Kageyama ashamedly looks over. "I've never had a pet before... so I guess I don't know what it's like."

"...Me neither, the closest thing is my sister's cat, but when she moved out the cat moved with her.. and, HEY! Okay sharing time is over! Let's get back on task. You go that way and I'll go this way," Oikawa pointed out with his finger. 

Briskly walking away towards the see-saw Oikawa muttered to himself, "I can't believe I was just about to have a heart to heart with Tobio-chan, yuck! If this isn't proof that I'm close to a break down then I don't know what is."

~ ~ ~ 

About an hour later, Oikawa lost his annoying little helpers as the rest of the crows finally found the park their teammates had gotten lost at.

The one with the shaved head gave him a weird face, that he guessed was supposed to be intimidating, and Daichi just seemed relieved that he hadn’t lost the first years he was in charge of. 

Oikawa wouldn’t admit it, but while Hinata and Kageyama hadn’t been very helpful, it had still been nice to have other people looking with him. Their presence forcing him to keep his cool, despite that fact that he was freaking out on the inside. This forced façade was normal and something he could do, secretly hoping the fake calmness would transfer inwards. 

“Oh by the way, we found your phone,” Daichi said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a Seijou green phone. “We could tell it was yours because, uh, the lock screen is a selfie of you staring at a sunset.”

Oikawa grabbed the phone so fast he was more of a blur than a man, hugging the small device to his chest in relief he already saw multiple notifications pop up.

“You were right Tsukki, he is that narcissistic,” Yamaguchi whispered to his taller friend, who only hummed in response.

Ignoring the overheard comment, Oikawa gave a quick thanks to the Karasuno captain, before unlocking his phone to check his messages.

He quickly skimmed through the Twitter and Facebook notifications to get to the one he knew was coming but dreaded. 

[Iwaizumi]: you've been awfully quiet the past couple hours 

[Iwaizumi]: that is never a good sign 

[Iwaizumi]: what did you do 

[Iwaizumi]: did you drop your phone in the toilet, again 

Oikawa groaned into his phone screen, he really should tell Iwaizumi what happened... but there was still a few hours of daylight left and that meant he still had a chance to make this right and pretend it never happened. 

"Hey, uh, you okay?" 

He looked up from his phone screen to see Karasuno's ace, who always seems to wear his hair in a man bun, looking down at him in concern. 

"Fine, fine, just glad to have my phone back. I just have sooo many messages to respond to is all," he said while causally holding up his phone. 

"Well glad we could help there," Daichi popped over, patting Asahi on the back to get him moving. "But we should be heading back now, coach is probably starting to worry. The original route was only suppose to take an hour." 

Rounding up the rest of the group they started to head for the exit of the park. Hinata stopped to wish him luck with finding the lizard, giving two thumbs up in encouragement, while Kageyama once again apologized for his mistake earlier, looking like he wanted to say more but not being able to find the words for it. 

The loud chattering of the team getting quieter and quieter as they left the park and made their way down the street, leaving Oikawa in silence besides for the chirping of birds and the constant splashing of a nearby fountain. 

Well at least now with his phone he could google helpful tips for finding lost lizards, ask for help if necessary -he felt his phone buzz to signify another text- avoid looking at texts from Iwaizumi...

Yep his luck was turning around for sure, he could feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > @Hinata and Kageyama. Sorry for making you both so clueless in this. I honestly love my idiot sons <3  
> > Oikawa has dropped his phone in the toilet before because he is like most of us and brings it into the bathroom when he has to go lol


	3. Lizard Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanamaki and Matsukawa make an appearance because I love those memers, and things all work out in the end after some tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heck yeah! My first complete fanfic :D I'm slowly working on my other projects but I felt the urge to finish this one since I've had the ending planned out in my head for months now.

Laying on a park bench, idly watching the fireflies start their dusk appearance, Oikawa started counting down the hours he had left to live, aka how long until Iwaizumi got home.

Now that he had his phone it was totally possible to text for backup, but he had searched every inch of this park, there was no way an extra set of eyes would do any good now, especially since the daylight was quickly disappearing by the second.

But he _needed_ to tell somebody, if only to reaffirm how screwed he was, so grabbing his phone he started a group chat with Matsukawa and Hanamaki.

[Oikawa]: guys I need your help

[Hanamaki]: what do I get out of it?

[Oikawa]: makkki I'm being serious here !!!! (；¬д¬)

[Hanamaki]: so am I

[Hanamaki]: I'm not a charity. My help doesn't come without a price

[Oikawa]: where's Mattsun??? He's more helpful than you

[Hanamaki]: probably playing CoD or some other shit game

[Matsukawa]: dark souls actlly

[Hanamaki]: I stand by my previous statement

[Matsukawa]: u can't call games shit just cuz u get obliterated every time

[Hanamaki]: bitch

[Matsukawa]: bitch

[Oikawa]: guys stfu and listen

[Hanamaki]: yea, listening

[Oikawa]: I lost Godzilla

[Hanamaki]: !?!?!??????

[Matsukawa]: shiiiiiiiiiiit .,,well it was nice knowing ya

[Hanamaki]: so you need our help to plan your funeral? Is that was you're asking

[Hanamaki]: I have been practicing 'your heart will go on' with my recorder, I'll play it in your honor

[Matsukawa]: we should bury him w his alien boxers

[Hanamaki]: it's what he would have wanted ....

[Oikawa]: omg I should have went to Yahaba for help instead

[Matsukawa]: we are just messin w u :p do you want us to come over and help look?

[Hanamaki]: she couldn't have gotten far

[Oikawa]: uhhhhhh she's actually been missing for hours now....

[Hanamaki]: dude...

[Oikawa]: and I've searched the entire park with no luck

[Oikawa]: plus it's dark out now and this just makes things 100000 times as hard _:(´□`」):

[Matsukawa]: I'll be over in 15

[Oikawa]: no... I think we should wait till morning. It's pointless trying to search in the dark

[Oikawa]: won't be able to tell the difference between a leaf or lizard

[Matsukawa]: u sure?

[Hanamaki]: whatever you think is best

[Oikawa]: ...I'll text you first thing in the morning

[Matsukawa]: kk

[Hanamaki]: I can't believe I'm going to be up on a Sunday before 9am... you better damn well appreciate this :////

A small smile tugged at the corners of Oikawa's mouth, his friends were little shits but reliable shits, and talking to them had relieved his anxiety a tiny bit.

With a sigh he pocketed his phone and stood up from the bench, stretching his arms over his head.

The park lights had just started to flicker on, casting a warm glow over the empty path save for a few wind blown leaves skittering across. It was still decently warm out, even with the cool of night settling in, which reassured him that Godzilla would not freeze overnight.

Heading back to his house, Oikawa managed to stop near every bush lining the sidewalk to have a quick look underneath, before groaning in defeat each time. At this point he didn't care how odd it looked to the neighbors.

Cringing as he walked past Iwaizumi's house, he made it to his own front door without a single lizard sighting.

Calling out a greeting to his mom as he entered the foyer, Oikawa quickly made an excuse to go up to his room. He did not feel like telling his mom about the situation right now.

Maybe he'd tell her in the morning.

Or maybe never.

Depends on how quickly he can fix this situation.

Plopping down face first onto his bed, Oikawa groaned loudly into his pillow. He wanted to scream but he wasn't sure if the cotton would be able to absorb one hundred percent of the sound.

Giving himself a good couple minutes to gather up his energy, he reached for his phone intent on messaging back Iwaizumi, who had texted him a few more times since he'd last checked. Fortunately they both had the 'read' feature off, so Iwaizumi would be unawares that he had already read the messages and was ignoring them.

Hovering over the keyboard, his fingers hesitated before clicking the home button.

He didn't know what he could say.

Everything he considered sending made guilt build up in him.

_Of course everything is fine Iwa-chan ~ you are so paranoid._

_I don't text for a few hours and you get worried? you really do care <333333_

He couldn't just pretend everything was okay. But of course not sending anything made him feel guilty as well.

So he did the only reasonable thing; focus on his homework that wasn't due for another week while charging his phone on the other side of the room, far far away from his line of sight.

It was a few hours later, in the middle of reading his history textbook, that he fell asleep sprawled out on top of his bed. Nothing put him to sleep as fast as dry text about the edo period and what methods of irrigation the farmers used.

.  
.  
.

That night Oikawa dreamt of finding Godzilla. She had been in the park the entire time, but in an out the way area used for growing cucumbers for the neighborhood. The rows were neatly spaced and kept in order by angry hedgehogs, with one particularly angry one who called him an asshole for not being able to set the cucumber properly. He didn't even remember trying to set a cucumber but he accepted it, like you do with everything in dreams.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Waking up as soon as the sun peaked in-between the blinds, Oikawa quickly sat up, knocking his textbook onto the floor with a loud slap.

The events of yesterday flooding back into his brain like a freight train, leaving him in disbelief that he had been that stupid, or maybe just plain unlucky.

Running his hands down his face, Oikawa mentality prepared himself for the day. Maybe he should have kept searching through the night...

Sending a text to Hanamaki and Matsukawa before taking a quick shower, he was ready for the day in record time, only spending maybe ten minutes on his hair routine.

Seeing that his friends would meet him outside Iwaizumi's house in an hour, Oikawa felt useless just waiting around. He paced the kitchen a few times, all breakfast options made his stomach squirm. Even the thought of is precious milk bread couldn't calm his stomach. So he settled on making a light banana and strawberry smoothie.

Still having time, he decided to circle Iwaizumi's place a few times, in hopes of Godzilla somehow making it back there, and just as he had made it back around front he saw Matsukawa biking up the street towards him.

Waving to his friend rapidly he called out, "Mattsun-chan!"

Coming to a stop beside Oikawa, Matsukawa sleepily grinned, "I have arrived to save the day."

About to reply, he was cut off at a loud, annoying bell ringing from the other direction. Which could be none other than Hanamaki.

Somewhat blinded by the rising sun, Oikawa didn't notice the state of Hanamaki's ride until he was right next to him.

"Why is your bike pink...? and has sparkly tassels," Oikawa questioned while grabbing at the glittery decorations.

"I'm trying to make a fashion statement," Hanamaki shrugged.

"Couldn't find your own bike so you took your neighbor's again huh?" Matsukawa said while leaning over his bike's handlebars.

".....possibly."

"So where exactly did you lose Godzilla?" Matsukawa turned his sleepy eyes back to Oikawa.

Opening his mouth to reply he was cut off _again_ by Hanamaki, rapidly tapping his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, uh... is Iwaizumi suppose to be coming back this early?"

"WHAT?!"

Whipping around to look in the direction Hanamaki was looking, hoping that he was just messing with him, his heart dropped into his stomach as he saw the Iwaizumi family car heading up the street.

"They aren't suppose to be back till noon at the earliest!?" Oikawa yelped with a questioning tilt to his statement. _What would make them come back earlier?_

Turning back just in time to see the two trying to inconspicuously bike away, Oikawa reached out and grabbed Hanamaki's bike by the tassels.

"Hey watch it! Don't rip them off!"

"You aren't leaving me alone with Iwa-chan!"

As they struggled, the Iwaizumi family pulled up next to them, with Iwaizumi's mom in the front passenger seat.

"Oh Tooru dear! Lovely to see you, as always! And... Hajime's other friends," she finished with a wide smile.

Hanamaki made the most offended face at that, while Matsukawa took it in stride, waving back friendlily.

The back window rolled down to reveal a scowling Iwaizumi, making Oikawa jump. Looking at Matsukawa and then Hanamaki, _they didn't tell him did they?_

"Hey asskawa! What was with the lack of texts?"

"Hajime! That's such a rude nickname. Don't call your friend that."

Looking somewhat embarrassed by his mom's scolding, he quickly unbuckled and exited the car, "Okay mom, got it.

"You can invite your friends over for lunch later if you want."

"Okay mom."

"Oh! And don't forget to bring in your backpack."

_"Okay mom."_

As the Iwaizumis drove away to pull into their driveway, the boys were left in an awkward silence. Oikawa sent a pleading look towards Hanamaki. Matsukawa and Hanamaki exchanged a conflicted look, and Iwaizumi just glared impatiently.

"Well...you see...um, hey, how was your college visit?" Oikawa asked, valiantly trying to change the conversation topic.

"Smooth redirection." Matsukawa whispered.

"Very smooth." Hanamaki whispered back.

"Boring," Iwaizumi bit out, crossing his arms. "Now don't ignore my question. You not answering your phone is never a good sign."

Matsukawa turned his sleepy eyes towards Oikawa, "You should probably just tell him Oikawa, he's going to find out soon enough when he goes up to his room."

"Go up to my room? What? Shittykawa what did you DO?!"

Iwaizumi took one menacing step forward, making Oikawa jump behind Matsukawa in fear, who was still half perched atop his bike.

"N-now now Iwa-chan. It's nothing to get too worked up over. We got this covered. Just don't go up to your room.. actually just don't go into your house at all for a few hours ha ha." He tried to finish the statement with a nonchalant laugh, but it was probably the worst fake laugh he had ever produced.

Obviously seeing that asking Oikawa was a waste of time, Iwaizumi turned to Hanamaki instead, "What did he do?"

Hanamaki, ignoring the the pleading hand gestures Oikawa was making, answered truthfully, "He, uh, kinda lost a certain scaly pet.. Me and Mattsun just found out last night, so we came over today to help look."

Besides for blinking a few times Iwaizumi made no movement, being completely still as he processed the information, and just as Oikawa was starting to get worried that maybe Iwaizumi had a brain aneurysm or something the other boy sprang to life.

"HE WHAT!?"

Lunging out of the way of Iwaizumi's attack, Oikawa shrieked as he dodged around Matsukawa and Hanamaki, using them as human shields.

"You can't be serious! I leave her in your care for one day and this happens!? Just how irresponsible are you?!"

"It was an accident! I was practically attacked by rabid fans Iwa-chan! And she just slipped away!"

At the mention of the fans Iwaizumi just seemed more angry, he never was thrilled by their constant presence, whether it be in the stands or in the hallways.

Trying to break through the tension, Hanamaki held up his hand like he was asking a question in the classroom. "I hate to interrupt but.. shouldn't you be spending this valuable time actually looking for her?"

This seemed to get Iwaizumi's emotions rolling in a different direction as the anger on his face was quickly replaced by worry.

"Tch, how long did you say she was missing for again?"

"Oikawa told us since yesterday," Matsukawa shrugged, unsure of an exact time.

Iwaizumi's face twitched, wanting to renter its previous pissed off state, and honestly the shade of red his skin was turning was impressive.

Seeing that Iwaizumi probably wouldn't take long to blow again Hanamaki did the only smart thing he could think of, "Oh shit! I forgot!" He exclaimed, pulling out his phone to pretend to check his notifications. "I, uh, left my toaster on fire so, i'vegottogo. Bye."

"Uh, yeah.. I also left his toaster on fire," Matsukawa said while starting to pedal.

"Hey! You guys! Get back here!" Oikawa angrily yelled.

"Good luck captain," Hanamaki saluated as he lifted his feet off the pavement and took off.

"We'll make some missing pet posters once we put out the fire," Matsukawa followed up with another salute.

And with that the two speed away at top speed, leaving Oikawa out in the open with no cover.

Fingers twitching, as Oikawa awaited his fate in trepidation, he was surprised when Iwaizumi walked right past him, making way for his house.

He hesitated a second before following his friend, keeping a five foot gap in between for safety measures.

Maybe Iwaizumi didn't fully believe Oikawa and wanted to see the truth for himself, or maybe he was just going to grab the baseball bat he kept in his closet, either way it would probably be smartest to _not_ follow him. And yet here he was waiting at the bottom of the steps that lead upstairs to the bedrooms.

He could hear Iwaizumi-san in the kitchen moving things around in the cupboard, probably looking for her favorite chopping board that she seemed to always misplace. Besides for that, the house was pretty quiet, the hallway clock's ticking resounding in his ears when normally he never even noticed its presence.

Oikawa stiffened when the loud pounding of footsteps could be heard upstairs, heading in the direction of the staircase. His feet were rooted to the floor as Iwaizumi stomped his way down to him.

Scowl in place, Iwaizumi curtly demanded, "Where."

"Where?" Watching as Iwaizumi's eyebrows furrowed further, Oikawa quickly amended, "O-oh, where? Kokuei park. But I..."

Without waiting for Oikawa to finish his sentence, Iwaizumi pushed past to head towards the front door.

Watching as he heavily slammed it shut behind him, Iwaizumi's mom peaked her head into the hallway, obviously curious about the noise.

"Was that Hajime? I thought he had gotten over that habit of slamming the door when he was eight," she tsked while shaking her head.

Not wanting to stick around and explain _why_ her son had slammed the door, he quickly excused himself, "Don't worry I'll make sure to scold Iwa-chan for you Iwaizumi-san ~"

Just as he was slipping through the door he heard a chuckle, "Really, what would Hajime be without you Tooru."

Normally a comment like that would make Oikawa feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but in this moment all he could feel was cold and prickly guilt.

Seeing Iwaizumi surprisingly not that far ahead, Oikawa jogged to catch up to him, falling into step beside him in spite of the risk it posed to his life. But he was forced to a sudden halt as Iwaizumi stopped in his tracks.

Expecting to be hit, he took a jump away, throwing his arms up across his face. But as a couple seconds passed without any pain Oikawa peaked between his arms to just see Iwaizumi continuing to glare at him, goading him to break the silence first. Probably expecting him to say something that would justify a punch to the gut.

"I'll.. I'll help search the park with you."

"No need."

Strangely enough that was the only response he got as Iwaizumi turned to continue in the direction of the park, leaving Oikawa behind without another word.

"Iwa-chan wait up!"

He quickened his pace to try and walk alongside his friend, but each step he took, Iwaizumi doubled it.

"Look, I'm really sorry okay?"

No response was given, but Oikawa could see Iwaizumi tightly clenching his fists, probably getting ready to beat him to pulp, and if he was being honest with himself... he probably deserved it this time.

But the fists never came, and that put Oikawa slightly on edge. _Why isn't he yelling at me? Where is the usual violent comeback?_

Tentatively reaching out a hand, Oikawa gently placed his fingers on Iwaizumi's shoulder, only to have it smacked away the instant contact was made.

Iwaizumi slightly turned his head towards him and let out a soft, "Don't."

The expected harsh tone wasn't present, but Oikawa flinched as if he had been physically slapped.

He didn't know how to handle this situation, and that thought hit him hard. He was used to always being in control, whether it be with the team, fellow classmates, or with his fans, he knew how to work people in his favor, because when it comes down to it a person is just a pattern of behaviors that can be easily predicted. But this was different, their usual banter was missing, there were no volleyballs being violently thrown at him, and not a single grating nickname... this was new to him, it wasn't their typical fight, and this wasn't the usual Iwaizumi. How can he possibly make this right again when he doesn't even know where to start?

_Get angry at me._

__Iwaizumi continued to walk on, leaving Oikawa frozen in place, arm still half reaching out, unable to grasp anything but the air._ _

___Get angry at me._ _ _

__Each step Iwaizumi took was loud, as the gravel underneath his sneakers crunched with the volume of a crumbling mountain. The air seemed to ring in Oikawa's ears as he forgot to exhale the last breath he took in._ _

___Please get angry at me!_ _ _

__There was a uncomfortable pressure squeezing down on his chest, constricting his breathing, and with each shaky exhale his eyes prickled more. The guilt welling up inside as he fought back the tears._ _

__Through the watery windows of his eyes he couldn't tell if he was imagining the shaking of Iwaizumi's shoulders or not when he called out one last time, "Hajime I'm so sorry... this is all my fault."_ _

__His voice had cracked on the last word but he couldn't be bothered to care as he saw Iwaizumi stop in his tracks, broad shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath._ _

__Not wasting this opportunity, Oikawa blubbered out more apologies, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let her out of my sight, I shouldn't have left her alone! I'm sorry! Let me help you! I'll do anything you tell me to do, just, just don't push me away."_ _

__Feeling drained, Oikawa didn't have time to react before Iwaizumi was turning towards him, striding over with purpose in his steps._ _

__"Well, first thing you can do to help is stop crying."_ _

__Oikawa sniffled, "I'm not-"_ _

__"You obviously are. Secondly..."_ _

__Suddenly a bright pain exploded behind Oikawa's eyes as Iwaizumi's forehead collided with his own, knocking him back a couple wobbly steps._ _

__"... after we find Godzilla, you owe me lunch for a week."_ _

__Clutching his forehead in pain, he wondered if his friend secretly had metal plating over his skull, like Wolverine or something. But the 'Iwaizumi Mutant Abilities' theory was quickly put to the side as the words registered in his still ringing ears._ _

__Blinking wide in shock at the sudden change of behavior, Oikawa took a moment to take in the appearance of his friend. On the outside it looked like the typical pissed off Iwaizumi, but to the trained eye he could see that he was blinking too rapidly, and his scowl was quivering at the edges, barely holding it together. _What was Iwa trying to do here?__ _

__He must have taken too long to reply, or Iwaizumi assumed he had brain damage now, because he continued on._ _

__"Wow you accepted that pretty quickly, no whining or anything, maybe you are maturing after all."_ _

__And then it clicked._ _

__It wasn't just him who relied on their usual banter, Iwaizumi needed it as well. It was how their dynamic worked. It was something they could always count on._ _

__"I never 'whine' Iwa-chan, I sometimes just dramatize my statements," he said with a suave flick of his hair, ignoring the fact that his eyes still had to be red-rimmed as he said this._ _

__"Yeah sure drama queen, whatever helps you sleep better at night."_ _

__"That would be my deluxe feathered pillows and the image of Tobio-chan crying as I smash that last point down right in front of his confused blueberry face."_ _

__"You're an ass, you do know that right? A whiny dramatic ass."_ _

__Oddly enough, Oikawa wasn't offended at this statement, rather he felt relieved, and could feel a smile grew on his face._ _

__"Quit smiling like that," Iwaizumi complained as he shoved a hand in Oikawa's face. "That wasn't anything to smile at."_ _

__Instead of doing what he was told, the smile continued to grow._ _

__Dark eyebrows drawn together in annoyance, Iwaizumi let go of his face. "Fine, whatever, you can weirdly smile all you want... as I make you look for Godzilla under the park dumpster."_ _

__"Ah! No! Spiders and other gross bugs live under there Iwa-chan!"_ _

__"Perfect, maybe Godzilla was looking for a snack," Iwaizumi smirked, as he continued in the direction he had been going in originally._ _

__As Oikawa went to catch up, this time he was easily able to fall into step with Iwaizumi's pace._ _

___This is how it should be._ _ _

 

__\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_ _

 

__"Ugh, yuck, I'm going to have to take a shower when I get back," Oikawa complained as he brushed off more gravel and dirt from his jeans._ _

__Looking up at the lack of response, he was worried that Iwaizumi had fallen back into his silent anger mood, but was relieved to see him simply too engrossed in his phone to respond._ _

__Peeking over his shoulder, he could see him messaging Hanamaki over FaceBook messenger._ _

__He must have gotten too close because Iwaizumi suddenly noticed his presence, tapping out of the app, "Hanamaki said he made a digital 'Lost Pet' sign for me and will post it online. I don't know how much good it will do, but he has a lot of friends, followers, or whatever, and the more eyes the better I guess."_ _

__"Why would you trust Makki with photoshop?" Oikawa sadly shook his head while unlocking his own phone._ _

__"What do you mea- goD DAMMIT HANAMAKI!" Iwaizumi exclaimed as Oikawa held up his phone to reveal their friends work._ _

__It was a Godzilla poster. In both the literal and figurative way. There were crushed buildings, lots of fire, and in the middle stood a masterfully photoshopped-in picture of Godzilla... their Godzilla, not the giant, stories high, green monster. But to fully complete this disaster, at the top of the image, in big bold comic sans text, were the words "Lost Pet", as any typical lost pet sign would have._ _

__"NO ONE WOULD TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"_ _

__Pulling his phone back, Oikawa just barely dodged having his phone chucked across the parking lot._ _

__"I don't know, I think it has a certain artistic flair to it, I like it."_ _

__Fuming at the ears, Iwaizumi violently typed at his phone's keyboard, probably giving Hanamaki a lecture or just a general 'piss off'._ _

__Feeling his phone buzz from its secure location against his chest, he looked down to see new text messages from... unknown?_ _

__Curious, he opened the messages, half assuming them to be a random confession that he sometimes tended to get._ _

__[Unknown]: You should have come to Shiratorizawa_ _

__[Unknown]: *You should come to Shiratorizawa_ _

__[Unknown]: Apologies_ _

__[Unknown]: Autocorrect_ _

___Who the hell is this?_ He questioned to himself, having a churning feeling in his gut about the identity of the texts, but hoping he was wrong. _ _

__"What's with the constipated look on your face? Who texted you?"_ _

__"Not sure exactly..." he said just as another text came through from the same number._ _

__[Unknown]: It is in your best interest to come as soon as possible as I do not have the necessary commodities to care for any animal outsi_ _

__[Unknown]: de of the basic farm livestock._ _

___You have got to be shitting me._ _ _

__There was no way this could be anyone but Ushijima._ _

__But wait! Is he saying what Oikawa thinks he's saying!?_ _

__Rapidly tapping his hand against Iwaizumi's arm to get his attention, Oikawa bounced a little as he said, "Hey, hey. I think I have something."_ _

__And with this somewhat vague lead, the two found themselves outside the Shiratorizawa main gates. Oikawa peaking over the edge of the wall suspiciously, and Iwaizumi rolling his eyes at him._ _

__"Come on Shittykawa we don't have time for this," Iwaizumi said as he grabbed Oikawa by the collar of his shirt._ _

__"Aaah fine! But if he really does have Godzilla-chan here's the plan; you grab her while I kick him in the shins, then we run."_ _

__"Ridiculous..." Iwaizumi muttered as he pushed open the unlocked gate, strolling onto school grounds._ _

__Approaching the gymnasium, they spotted Ushijima waiting by the side entrance, but he hadn't spotted them yet as he was looking at something to the left of him. Oikawa couldn't make out what that something was though due to a decorative fountain blocking his view._ _

__Once they were near enough to gain Ushijima's attention, Oikawa made sure to put on his best fake smile, "Ushiwaka-chan lovely to see you again so soon. Now where is the reason we are here so we can limit this interaction as little possible."_ _

__He half expected Iwaizumi to call him out on his rude behavior, but he seemed too preoccupied with trying to look around Ushijima in hopes of seeing Godzilla._ _

__Ushijima nodded. "Of course. You must be busy. It was actually Tendou here who saw your teammate's post online," he pointed to the left of them._ _

__Peeking around the fountain he saw that odd middle blocker, with the spiky red hair, laying flat on his stomach in the grass. Right in front of Tendou's face, also in the grass, was none other than Godzilla-chan. The two of them in their own little world as they took turns sticking their tongues out at each other._ _

__"On my walk yesterday with Lassie we found it crossing the path by Kamafusa Lake. I was unaware of the owner at the time, but felt it would be irresponsible to leave it on the trail with so many people walking by."_ _

__"Why did you name your Rottweiler after a collie? Did you even watc-" Oikawa was cut off as his head was forcefully pushed down into a bow._ _

__Iwaizumi also bowed his head slightly as he held Oikawa's in place, "Thank you."_ _

__Walking over, Iwaizumi picked up Godzilla, holding her against his chest as her claws hooked into the fabric of the shirt._ _

__Wiping grass off his shorts as he stood up, Tendou bounced over to sling his arm around Iwaizumi's shoulders, making himself uncomfortably close. "You know I've already thought about getting a bearded dragon myself, but mom says if I bring one more scaly monster into the house my pythons will be eating me for dinner instead of the pinkies haha."_ _

__Seeming somewhat bothered by the close proximity, Iwaizumi still had enough interest to respond to the manic redhead, "Well, I'm not sure how well snakes and lizards mix... so it might be for the best."_ _

__"You think I could give a test run with this little fella here? I'll give them back."_ _

__Not trusting the looking in Tendou's eyes, Iwaizumi placed his free hand over Godzilla's back, partially covering her from view._ _

__Throughout the exchange Ushijima had just been silently watching, which disturbed Oikawa, as he generally didn't like silences but this was ten times worse. Who knew what was going through the big lug's head. Probably observing to find their weaknesses, that's what he would do. Or maybe he was just thinking about the number of snakes that would be needed to clear out a barn of mice. Who knows._ _

__Looking back at Iwaizumi, asking with his eyes for the go-head to leave, he was confused how Tendou and him had somehow started a discussion about giant monster movies._ _

__Knowing that this could last for hours without end, Oikawa roughly tugged at Iwaizumi's shirt sleeve to get him moving._ _

__"Anyways, we should really be going, right Iwa-chan? Don't want to waste the daylight when we could be practicing."_ _

__"Erm, sure I guess?" Iwaizumi let himself be dragged towards the direction of the exit, but on his way thanked their rivals one last time, "Thanks again for cleaning up this idiot's mess."_ _

__"Lookin' forward to our next match. Just try not to lose as badly as Godzilla did against King Kong," Tendou taunted with a smug expression on his face._ _

__"That damn fight was rigged and you know it! Godzilla would never lose against a dumb ape."_ _

__Seeing a chance to play along with their banter Ushijima also attempted to join in. "I also look forward to our next match. Hopefully you will be better prepared by then. I would hate to see you lose as badly as you lost your pet."_ _

__Iwaizumi leaned over to whisper to Oikawa, "You know... it's not too late to kick him in the shins."_ _

__

__\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_ _

__

__It was now a week after the 'incident' and Oikawa and Iwaizumi were working on homework in the grassy backyard, a couple college brochures littered about._ _

__The one Oikawa was currently holding guaranteed that "You Won't Regret Choosing Us", with a picture of a bunch of smiling students linking arms in front of the campus._ _

__Flinging the brochure to the side, he looked back down at his homework, with an uncharacteristic subdued air about him, Oikawa's thoughts started to take a turn towards the negative._ _

__Was it wrong to wish for high school to last forever just so he wouldn't have to lose what he had?_ _

__Iwaizumi eyed the discarded pamphlet. "You don't have to be so broody. College isn't the end of the world you know."_ _

__Not feeling like giving a full response, he simply hummed in half hearted agreement, but this didn't seem to be the response Iwaizumi wanted._ _

__Hoping he would drop the subject Oikawa was surprised when he felt a sudden weight fall onto his head, thinking it was Iwaizumi's hand at first he tensed up in preparation for light pain. But that never came, instead he felt a lighter sensation of movement carding through his hair._ _

__But that movement suddenly became more of a flailing action, and when a tail smacked him in the face Oikawa realized what had happened._ _

__"Ah! Iwa-chan why?! Stop her! She's messing up my hair!"_ _

__Trying to angle his head so she wouldn't fall off when scrambling around, he just knew his hair was already a disaster. No hair products could with stand an onslaught of this magnitude._ _

__Oikawa attempted to grab her but her claws were firmly tangled in his hair, just causing the situation to escalate. Dropping his hands down to his sides, he faced Iwaizumi, ready to beg for mercy, but was horrified to see a phone camera aimed in his direction._ _

__With a high pitched squawk he dived for Iwaizumi's phone with its ridiculous Godzilla case, but of course by the time he reached for it, the device had been transferred to Iwaizumi's other hand, out of reach. He even had the audacity to laugh at Oikawa as he struggled, clearly amused by the whole thing._ _

__This lead to Oikawa practically in Iwaizumi's lap as he reached for the phone that was being held at a distance behind him._ _

__"Give it here," Oikawa said as he took another swipe at it. Iwaizumi having blackmail material was never a good thing. The only way it could be worse is if Mattsun and Makki got ahold of it._ _

__"Hey, it's really not that bad of a picture. It's actually kind of cut-"_ _

__But Iwaizumi was cut off as he lost his balance, and was tipped backwards onto the grass with a grunt, dragging Oikawa with him._ _

__His head now being inches from the ground, Godzilla took this opportunity to crawl off and escape this tussle, and without the added weight Oikawa was able to lift his head enough to look at Iwaizumi, who had a stunned look on his face._ _

__Taking advantage of his friend's state, he snatched the phone to take a look at this _cute_ photo. _ _

__Without a doubt it was one of the ugliest pictures he had ever been captured in; his hair was a mess, sticking up in odd directions, his expression was one of terror, mouth half open in a scream, plus the lighting was all wrong for his complexion._ _

___How can he possibly think this is cute?_ Oikawa thought to himself as his finger hovered over the delete button. But his hesitation was his downfall, as in one swift movement Iwaizumi pushed him over, causing him to drop the phone into the grass. _ _

__"Oof! I had no idea you wanted photos of me so bad Iwa-chan. I thought the daily selfies I sent were enough, but apparently not."_ _

__"You mass send those selfies to the entire student body."_ _

__He waved off that comment with the flick of his wrist. "My beauty must be shared."_ _

__Iwaizumi snorted, "Whatever you say prisskawa."_ _

__"You can't just add any word you want in front my name you know!" Oikawa indignantly huffed._ _

__"I can, I will, and I just did," Iwaizumi retorted._ _

__"Ugh whatever, I'm going to get some water," Oikawa said while pushing himself off the grass. "Want any?"_ _

__"Yeah, sure."_ _

__Stepping inside the house, he made his way over the cabinets to grab some glasses, his mind wandering as he went through the movements. _How could anyone prefer that horrible photo over his professionally self taken shots? And why was he getting so caught up on this? It's not like this actually mattered. Geez, maybe he is self centered like Iwaizumi always claimed...__ _

__Taking the glasses of water in hand he handed back towards the door, in the process walking past the hallway mirror, catching a glimpse of his still tousled hair. He had the strongest urge to set the water down and fix it, at least a little bit so it no longer resembled a squirrel's nest._ _

__But remembering it was only Iwaizumi waiting for him, Oikawa didn't feel the strong need to look perfect like he usually did._ _

__Besides, Iwaizumi thought his hair looked cute this way, right?_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa tries hard with everything he does, always needing to be better, and to an extent this applies to how he tries to keep up his flawless appearance around others. Being around Iwaizumi is different though, it's more natural, and whether he realizes it or not, Oikawa wants that sense of being good enough without having to try. (That's what I was trying to get at in the end there, so hopefully that got through)
> 
> Ushijima would name his dog after Lassie regardless of the breed imo, cuz he admires her hard work and heroics as a farm dog 
> 
> But anyways! Thanks everyone for reading.. whatever this is! It was fun. I hope I get around to writing more iwaoi in the future :) 
> 
> hmu on the blue hell site  
> Tumblr: [small-lizard](http://small-lizard.tumblr.com/)


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